Sea to Sky Hard Enduro: Lettenbichler wins from Jarvis
Red Bull KTM rider Mani Lettenbichler takes victory at the 2024 Hard Enduro World Championship round six, the Sea to Sky in Turkey – the GOAT Graham Jarvis claims best result of the season in second ahead of Mario Roman.
The final day of racing at round six of the FIM Hard Enduro World Championship saw riders face a demanding 65-kilometre course beginning on the beach and racing to a finish line on the summit of the nearby mount Olympos, 2,365m above sea level.
It promised to be epic, Sea to Sky always is, but at almost five hours for the winner it was certainly one of the toughest races on the HEWC calendar.
Despite nursing a wrist injury following yesterday’s Forest Race qualification, Red Bull KTM Factory Racing’s Manuel Lettenbichler looked like his usual self, taking the holeshot and lead the way in the high-speed, dusty sections early on.
Lettenbichler continued to lead in the early canyon riverbed section with Sherco Factory Racing’s Teodor Kabakchiev behind in second, with yesterday’s Forest Race winner Red Bull Leader Tread’s Wade Young and Husqvarna Factory Racing’s Billy Bolt third and fourth.
Rookie mistake costs Roman
After the infamous canyon section, the course gets harder as riders work their way round the mountain to the summit. Sherco’s Mario Roman worked his way up from a second row start to pass all of the above up to Lettenbichler.
The pair looked to have the fight for the race win between them but a “junior mistake” from Roman caused some serious header pipe damage and mario had to go into survival mode with less power, handing Lettenbichler room to escape.
It was all the invitation Mani needed to go on to record his fifth win of the season comfortably and set himself up for the championship with one round remaining in Spain later this month.
Silent assassin returns
Behind Lettenbichler the fight for the final podium places came alive in the closing stages as Roman struggled with his damaged exhaust and the silent assassin made his attack.
Former winner and legendary master of the hardest of hard enduro terrain, Graham Jarvis first disposed of first Bolt, then Young and Kabakchiev, and finally Roman to claim second position.
It was a reverse of the situation at Erzberg this year when Graham and Mario were close (and helped each other at times) but where the Sherco rider got the better of the old guy in the end. This time Roman had to settle for the lower step on the podium as Graham showed none of his dogged skills on the hard going have been lost.
In what was his first race back from injury Billy Bolt rode a solid pace and claimed back positions as the terrain got tougher. But the Husqvarna rider admitted he ran out of steam towards the end and was content with fourth.
Career best result for Moret beating Young and Kabakchiev
Claiming one of the best results of his hard enduro career, Francesc Moret made it two Spaniards inside the top five with fifth. Moret put his trial skills to work in the most difficult of sections and was able to overhaul championship contenders Young and Kabakchiev to secure a memorable result.
Manuel Lettenbichler: “I’m super stoked with the victory today. After my crash in yesterday’s Forest Race, I was unsure if I could race today. I injured my wrist and needed to get it checked out. I was determined to go anyway this morning.
“I had a pretty good start and got the holeshot, which helped me to stay out of the dust on the opening sections. At the canyon rivers, Teo was with me. But I was trying to ride my own race as best I could. Teo, Wade, Mario and myself were altogether at the most difficult sections, fighting. I managed to get a gap on them and then control that advantage over the final mountain sections. I’m so happy to win, it was tough!”
Graham Jarvis: “With it being a world championship round, the course was much longer and tougher than previous years [at Sea to Sky]. The difficult sections were relentless, and I had to dig deep in places. But I’m delighted with this result.”
Mario Roman: “I’m very happy with my race. I had a mechanical issue in yesterday’s Forest Race, so I only qualified on the second row. That meant I had a lot more dust to ride through early on. Before the canyon, I got up to fifth and could see Billy and Wade, so I realised my pace was good.
“After that, the course got tougher and tougher. I started passing some riders and reached Mani. We shared the race lead for a long time, but I hit one rock by mistake in an off camber and destroyed my exhaust pipe. It was a junior mistake for sure and something I’ve never done before in my career.
“It’s disappointing because I know the win was there for me today. As a result, the last half hour was tough physically and mentally to make the sections. I had an amazing battle with Graham, but he beat me over the line.”
2024 Sea to Sky Mountain Race results (top 10):
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 4:43:22.26
2. Graham Jarvis (Husqvarna) 4:56:39.34
3. Mario Roman (Sherco) 4:57:17.96
4. Billy Bolt (Husqvarna) 5:07:20.52
5. Francesc Moret (Sherco) 5:10:46.88
6. Wade Young (GASGAS) 5:14:14.68
7. Teodor Kabakchiev (Sherco) 5:23:12.71
8. Matthew Green (KTM) 5:27:31.45
9. Sonny Goggia (KTM) 5:33:32.81
10. David Cyprian (KTM) 5:58:17.05
Provisional top 5 standings (after round 6 of 7):
1. Manuel Lettenbichler (KTM) 112 pts
2. Wade Young (GASGAS) 95 pts
3. Mario Roman (Sherco) 91 pts
4. Teodor Kabakchiev (Sherco) 82 pts
5. Mitch Brightmore (Husqvarna) 66 pts
The FIM Hard Enduro World Championship now heads to Spain for the seventh and final round of the season at 24MX Hixpania Hard Enduro on October 25-27.
Photo Credit: Future7Media | Nicki Martinez
